ShikaIno
by sassha
Summary: A collection of ShikaIno short stories Chapter 2: "That's how you think of me all this time right? That I'm trashy? That I'm a slut?" Shikamaru was beyond frustrated when Ino did not want to give him a chance to hear him out. How will Shikamaru make her listen to him when a new rival appeared: the Kazekage? Takes place in Suna at Gaara's 21st birthday(One-sided GaaIno & ShikaTema)
1. The Bet

The sky was the perfect shade of radiant blue and was clear of clouds that usually decorate the sky. Gusts of wind blowing around every so often and the air was rather cold, but the sun burning strongly seemed to compensate the windy air, giving off comforting warmth to those who are out in the streets.

The legendary Ino-Shika-Cho; Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza were having lunch in Ichiraku Ramen as a small get together for the sake of keeping in touch with each other every now and then.

"Today is a good day huh, Inoichi. Just a friendly reminder, I won _that_ bet. Even the sky seems to be happy for my victory too."

Shikaku smirked as he gorged on his massive bowl of chicken tonkotsu ramen. The stress stemming from his piling work had caused his appetite to increase in a remarkable rate.

"I hope that brain of yours haven't become rotten yet as to forget the bet." He added, his mouth still forming a smirk.

_Seems like not only his appetite have increased, but his ego too. He's enjoying this too much_. Inoichi noted.

"Ohhh I have nearly forgot about the bet!" Choza got excited at the topic.

"Never in my life have I thought of the possibility of our Shika-kun really falling for her. I mean, it's _Ino-chan_." He continued with a facial expression of confusion and excitement combined. "Don't get me wrong, Inoichi. Your daughter is a jewel, but Shika-kun has always been so laid-back and never bothered with anything. He thinks Ino-chan is too troublesome."

Inoichi sighed inwardly, "Honestly I also have never expected my Ino to develop a romantic feeling towards Shika-kun. She used to like that cool, quiet, very handsome village heartthrob Sasuke." Inoichi paused and stared at the countertop in front of him in contemplation, before piping up again, "But when I think about it, Shika-kun is very similar yet at the same time very different with Sasuke."

Choza had just gulped down the remains of the ramen soup until its very last drop when he asked, "That Uchiha Sasuke? How does Shika-kun resemble him in any way?"

Inoichi took a spoonful of his shoyu ramen before proceeding to elaborate his previous statement, "They are both quiet and only mind their own business. They're both cool guys. Sasuke is cool in a way that he is composed, serious and reserved, almost too stiff. But a cool, rigid guy is very hard for everyone to approach."

He took another spoonful of ramen. "Shika-kun is cool in a more… laid-back way. Him being all lazy, almost like he never had a care in the world yet he is so much of a gentleman. Seeing him so laid-back actually makes people feel that everything is going to be alright, much like how our dear friend Shikaku does here. A cool guy like him could comfort anyone with just his presence alone without saying anything at all. They are very similar in personality yet they have very different effect on people."

And his mind drifted off to the day Shikaku and he placed the bet.

_"Ah, hello Yoshino-san." Inoichi greeted as Shikaku's wife opened the door. _

_"Hello Inoichi-san, Ino-chan." Yoshino smiled at them, "The Akimichis have already arrived, make yourself home." _

_They were gathering at Nara's massive residence to celebrate Shikamaru's eighth birthday. They made their way to Nara's garden where the adults were having coffee and snacks while little Shikamaru had his eyes closed while laying on the grass under a big tree to shelter him from the blinding sunlight and Choji folding paper cranes beside him. _

_Little Ino skipped over to them and squatted down beside Shikamaru and began poking him in the ribs, to which he immediately jerked forward and sit up in response, "Ino!" _

_"Shikamawu shouldn't be sleeping all day on his special day. See, I brought a present for you! Happy Birthday Shikamawu!" She beamed as she held out a box with blue wrappings tied with green ribbon. _

_"Troublesome girl" he mused, but he accepted the gift anyway. _

_"What's trubba… zum?" She asked, frowning. _

_Even at the young age of five, Shikamaru had shown signs of being a genius like his father. He knew a broad range of vocabulary most kids did not until they were at least twelve. Deciding that it would be a waste of time answering her question, he laid back down and closed his eyes once again. _

_"Don't ignore me!"_

_He groaned inwardly._

_"Aren't you going to open the present now?" _

_"Later."_

_"You're not curious about what's inside?"_

_"Hn."_

_"I picked it out myself!" She let out a small giggle and grinned expectantly._

_"Hn." _

_"Don't fall asleep on me!" She nagged some more and proceeded to shake him awake by his shoulder._

_"Ino…" He let loose a small scowl despite the burning sensation against his face at her touch. She stared back at him with defiance._

_"You are no fun Shika" She pouted and stood up to join Choji with origami. She began making flower crowns from sheets of colored paper. _

_He opened one eye at the mention of his nickname as she rarely called him by 'Shika'._

_As much as a genius he was at eight years old, he was still too young and inexperienced to notice how his mood always lighten up at the sight of her nor understand why his face always grow hot when she talks to him, especially at those incorrect pronunciation of many words she was not able to enunciate. _

_Nevertheless, he fought down the blush and forced himself to take his mind off the tingling sensation in his shoulder._

_The bundle of energy in the form of Ino had always attracted him, the lazy and unenthusiastic Shikamaru. He never paid any attention at troublesome things, and Ino ranked second most troublesome person in his life, the first being his mom. She was the bane of his existence yet he cannot seem to turn his attention elsewhere when she was around. _

_He always forced himself to look straight at the road in front of him whenever he walks side by side with her, but his mind was always glued to her, his eyes watching her every move from the corner of his eyes. He always forced himself to close his eyes and nap, but he could not stop himself from focusing his hearing and touch sense at her presence beside him to try figuring out what she was doing when his eyes were closed. He always grew wary at other boys who purposely drop a pencil near her to strike some conversation with her afterwards. _

_He thought it was because there was a different effect guys and girls have on him. He thought it was because they were so close that he needed to protect her from any harm that may come her way. He thought that other boys other than him and Chouji were not good enough to talk to Ino. _

_She was popular after all. She was pretty on a whole different level compared to other girls in the academy. She was easygoing and likes to help people. She was smart, active, responsible and energetic. She had a certain glow about her. She shone like the sun and makes everyone want to be her friends. _

_He was attracted to her and he could not do anything to stop it. Opposites do attract after all._

_"Troublesome." He muttered to himself._

_After a while, lots of paper cranes and flower crowns surrounded them. Ino placed one of the flower crowns on top of Shikamaru's head, much to his chagrin because boys do not wear flower crowns, especially if it is in pink color. _

_He took it away, but Ino put it back on his head in persistence. His heart pounded at her adorable perseverance to make him wear it and fought down a smile threatening to form on his lips. _

_He knew it would be troublesome to deal with her reaction if she was unable to have her way, which automatically made opposition out of the options. He then submitted to it, feigning a pout and frown on his face to hide a blush. _

_A few moments later he felt his stomach grumble and made his way to the table where the adults were chatting to grab some matcha and almond milk pancakes. Choza noticed the pink paper crown and took it upon himself to tease him a bit. _

_"Shika-kun, you look even cuter with that pink paper crown adorning your head." Choza was grinning widely now._

_Shikamaru let out a groan, "Ino made me wear it." _

_Choza grew a little more interested than he already was, "So you're willing to wear it just for Ino-chan's sake?" _

_"Hn, I don't know, she's a girl and all" The little boy shrugged._

_"What does being a girl have anything to do with this?" He raised an eyebrow._

_Shikamaru frowned and gave it a little thought, "Ughh… I don't… know... I just feel like I have to do whatever she says especially because she is a girl, and a demanding one at that. She will beat me up if I don't." Shikamaru explained with a yawn as Choza smiled in satisfaction with Shikamaru's answer._

_Ino also went to the table to pour herself a cup of tea. The teapot shook almost violently in her hand as she struggled to cope with the weight. Inoichi was about to help his little princess when Shikamaru beat him to it. _

_He gently grabbed the teapot from her hand and poured the contents into the cup with ease. Inoichi, who was listening to Choza and Shikamaru's conversation earlier, smiled knowingly, _

_"You sure raised quite a son, Shikaku." Said man just smirked, feeling proud of his son. _

_"Well, he learns from the best." He looked over to the side to find his son already laying his head on the table, too sleepy to be listening to what the adults are saying, whereas Ino had gone to Choji's side to bring him cookies and helped him fold more paper cranes._

_"An apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?" Choza piped up. _

_Growing up watching his father always submitting to his mother and never offering a resistance sure made Shikamaru do the same. Even though he has not gotten the idea of the unwritten rule on how men should always be courteous to women, he grew up a gentleman without knowing anything about it. _

_"That courteous manner of his… it's almost as if it was innate. I bet he could make any girl swoon over him one way or another when he's grown older" He added and let out a hearty laugh. _

_Shikaku leaned towards Inoichi, "Well __**I**__ bet your little princess will pant after my son in a few years time." He then laughed together with Choza while Inoichi looked like he was sulking. _

_Choza managed to calm himself before saying, "Well, best friend's son or not, Inoichi will definitely kill Shika-kun if he hurts his little princess. Hell he will even trail them on their first date." _

_Inoichi grumbled, "I, surprisingly, will not deny that, but… if it's Shika-kun, or Choji-kun, I trust them enough to not hurt her intentionally. Those two are good boys, at least that much I know." _

That was then when Shikaku offered him to place a bet, in which Shikaku bet that Ino will end up together with Shikamaru. Inoichi was reluctant at first, but he accepted it in the end after some contemplation. Choza thought the bet was silly, because Shikamaru and Ino are like Yin and Yang; too different. He thought Shikamaru who was always muttering the word 'troublesome' will not take such a demanding girl like Ino to be his girlfriend.

But of course, Yin and Yang are inseparable despite the differences.

_"If I didn't know better, I'd say it's even more than possible, Choza. You know, us Nara men are attracted to troublesome women like Yoshino and Ino-chan. They are the ones who keep us in line, without tyrannical women like them, lazy-asses like my son and I would not know what to do with life." _

_As if on cue, Ino shrieked and started wailing loudly that quickly annoyed the sleepy Shikamaru. He raised his head to look at Ino and groaned at the invasive sound. He never liked it when girls cry. Every second of the crying sound made his heart ache as if it was squeezed._

_He felt a sense of wanting to protect and comfort her, and was contemplating whether to act on it or wait for one of the adults to calm her down. _

_Inoichi had just put his cup of coffee down and was about to stand up, when again, Shikamaru had beaten him to it. He watched as the little boy hastily jumped down from his seat after muttering his trademark 'mendokuse' and strutted over to approach Ino. _

_"Ino, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, while trying to hide his overflowing concern. _

_Ino looked up at him with big teary eyes, "The-there was a big lizard.. at first it stayed quiet then suddenly it jumped to my lap…and then…and then-" _

_"Sshh…" Shikamaru reached to pat her head and repeatedly stroke her smooth platinum blonde hair in an attempt to calm the now hiccupping Ino. _

_He noticed that she had scraped the back of her palm too, and took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb on the side of the scratch to soothe the pain. He was almost surprised at how smooth her skin was. _

_Although he was trying to calm her down, the physical interaction they had was the thing that made him feel calm and relaxed, like it felt right. Like he was meant to touch her skin._

_Ino's crying eventually stopped, and was replaced by sleepiness as she dropped her head and leaned on Shikamaru's shoulder before sleep overtook her. She had caught him off guard and he was hesitant at first. He could feel familiar warmth creeping up his face and ears. His heart was pounding and his hands started to tremble at the close proximity. _

_He may seem like he did not care about hardly anything and thought girls were troublesome, but no one ever thought that he was also shy and did not know how to deal with girls._

_He decided to lean back against the tree chunk. He wrapped his arm around her back and scooted her closer to him, trying to make her feel comfortable in his lap before tucking her head under his chin and drifting himself off to sleep at the newfound calming sensation from hugging her. _

_Inoichi had his mouth open wide enough for a baby's fist to fit into, "I can't believe what I have just witnessed. How in the world did your son managed to calm her down in two minutes when it takes me at least an hour."_

And the day came where Shikaku's prediction actually became reality.

Inoichi, who lost the bet, paid for the ramen where he almost ran out of money because he was paying for Choza's twelve whole bowls of ramen too after all. He had not even had enough time to mull over the loss of his money when he was suddenly greeted by the sight of Ino and Shikamaru standing in front of him.

Ino was smiling widely and hugging Shikamaru's left arm like he was the last man on earth while the boy fought a blush and tried to look elsewhere nervously to avoid Inoichi's glare that was burning on the side of his face.

"Daddy! Shikamaru and I are getting married in two months!" She beamed as she held out her left hand right in front of Inoichi's shocked face to show the wedding ring Shikamaru picked out for her.

Shikamaru's heart beat even faster and sweated some more as he felt an intense killing intent directed right at him, sending shivers up his spine. Trust Ino to break the news at the wrong time and at the wrong place.

Choza watched the event occurring with astonishment, while Shikaku's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden news.

"Oh, I see, Shikamaru, huh? So that's how it is, boy? You're planning to marry my daughter?" The bone-chilling fury in his voice could not be missed.

Shikamaru gulped and cursed himself for falling in love with a daddy's little girl. He could feel his legs and fingers shaking in his pockets. Ever since he started dating Ino, her father had been giving him more 'attention' to ensure he would not violate his daughter.

He clenched his trembling jaw before taking a deep breath and stammered, "Y-yes, sir. I promise to never hurt her and I will not let you down, sir."

It was embarrassing to have to say all that in front of his father and his friends and he knew how his face must be red beet by now. He clenched and unclenched his fists in an attempt to stop his hands from trembling.

Surrounded by the Akatsuki, he could take. The anger of Chouji after being called fat, he could also take. But the wrath of his girlfriend's father, he could not take.

Inoichi began cracking his knuckles and Shikamaru's legs immediately turned jelly, barely holding him up.

"You two have only been dating for barely a year!" He barked.

Shikamaru flinched at the sudden outburst and looked at his father, hoping for some support, but Shikaku just smirked and enjoyed the little interrogation his friend is holding. _Good luck with that, Son_.

He felt helpless. True, they had only been dating for a year, but Ino and him were so close since they were little children it felt like he had been dating her his whole life.

Ino had pestered him into marriage, as a shinobi's life is not guaranteed to be long. He did not want to rush it, but he thought of the possibility of 200 different outcomes if he rejected her. One being him getting dumped for another guy that would happily marry her –heck like he would even let any guy get near her, another one being her suffering from amnesia after returning back from her mission and forget about everything that was going on between them and that she would fall for some other guy other than him, and the list of crazy possibilities went on. He did not want any of that and sure will not going to have that.

He went out of his way to ask Sakura, Hinata and Tenten on how he should propose to her. Ino loved romance too much after all. She would kill him if he did not propose to her romantically. He could have thought of 200 possible ways to propose but he figured Ino must have told her girl friends tons of her own ideal way of how he should propose to her, and that included getting down on one knee, a bouquet of 239 roses which means 23 September–the date of their anniversary and her birthday, a romantic expensive candlelight dinner, and the list went on. So he went to her girl friends for advice and saved him from all the effort.

The ring he chose himself had small diamonds encircling the band with a big blue, opal-shaped diamond. He thought the opal-shaped blue diamond reminded him of her cerulean orbs and purchased the ring without needing to think twice.

But he couldn't tell her father Ino-pestered-me-to-marry-her kind of answer, as it would enrage Inoichi more. He could figure out enemy's intentions and abilities under battle pressure while maintaining his shadow jutsu at the same time, but under Inoichi's killer intent, it felt like his brain had shut down and rendered him speechless.

And he wondered why he wanted to date this crazy demanding girl with a crazy over-protective father in the first place.

**Please share a little bit of your thoughts and review! Don't be scared, I don't get offended easily, so negative or positive reviews, shoot them all at me! And don't forget to follow the story, the next chapter will be up in a couple of weeks.**


	2. Jumping to Conclusions (Part 1)

**Just to make it clear before you read, this story is a whole different story and completely unrelated to the previous chapter (:**

**XOXO**

"Shikamaru, do you like _her_?"

_Thump_.

Suddenly time almost seemed to stand still to him as he slowly opened his eyes anxiously while trying to ignore the rapid heartbeat in his chest at the unexpected question. Clearly he had not prepared himself to talk about this troublesome topic. Feigning his usual uninterested expression, he turned his head languidly to look at the big, brown-haired guy beside him.

It was almost evening when these particular four childhood friends were relaxing in an outdoor hot spring in Suna. It was one day before the young Kazekage's 21st birthday and there was going to be a grand party held that midnight to celebrate his legal age, thus, the whole Konoha 11 team was invited, courtesy of the Kazekage himself.

"Who?" His voice came out unsteady, betraying the bored look in his face. Nonetheless, he braced himself for the answer, readying his heart for whatever name will come out of his best friend's mouth.

"You know, Temari-san."

He furrowed his eyebrows, half confused at the mention of the Sand nin. He waited a few moments and searched for any signs that this brunette was not serious, but _he was_.

"Temari?" He asked, as if he hadn't heard it correctly.

"Uhh I saw you two talking to each other earlier, like you and her are very close, and… there were also some rumors going around for a while, so I was wondering if…" Choji trailed off, unsure of how to put his words together.

"Psh, I only like her as a friend. A role model at best, but nothing more." He put both of his hands at the back of his head and submerged his body further up until the base of his neck, inhaling the hot steam of water.

His heartbeat gradually steadying itself as a rush of relief washed over him. He was almost glad the one Choji was referring to wasn't the particular platinum blonde who had been clouding his mind for the past few years. Not that he wanted to hide things from his best friend, but he was still could not be sure of what exactly the feeling was himself.

"No way! I was certain there was something going on between you and her _'ttebayo_!" cried out a certain blonde loudmouth while pointing his index finger accusingly at him.

"_Heh_, but even so, that chick definitely has the hots for ya, man. She's always all smiles around ya and her face lights up brighter than a 200 watt bulb whenever she talks to ya." Said another loudmouth, though this time his hair was brown.

To say he hadn't noticed it would be a shame to his IQ of 200. The older Sand jounin had been quite grabby, dropping not-so-subtle hints here and there for him to pick up.

He didn't miss how she had purposely brush her leg against his when they were sitting together nor did he miss how she found, or even created opportunities and excuses to punch him lightly in the arm and blushed afterwards.

He didn't miss how she continuously flirted with him and put her hand on his knee, thigh or even chest nor did he miss the winks she gave him every now and then.

But more importantly, he couldn't have missed the intense spark in her eyes whenever she looked at him. The way she stared at him with her pupils dilated evidently told him it was not just mere adoration she had had for him.

It exceeded infatuation.

It exceeded like.

It was… love.

He knew she loved him, although it took him a while to figure this out. He _knew_ she loved him, because the way her eyes sparkle almost sanguinely whenever she saw him was exactly how his own eyes did every time he saw a certain platinum blonde kunoichi.

As of why she loved him, he didn't know and didn't care to know. He had already close to overwork his brain thinking of _ways_ to deal with her advances without obviously hurting her feelings.

_Meh, girls really are troublesome._

"Are ya sure ya don't like her one bit?" Kiba interrupted his thoughts.

Shikamaru's eyebrows frowned deeper, "Well, _define _like_._"

"Hmm.. like is when ya feel happy seeing or talking to her." Kiba answered.

"Like is when you don't want to look bad in front of her." Choji added.

"LIKE IS WHEN YOU'D TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT SHE LIKES OR DOES NOT LIKE AND KEEP THEM IN MIND _'TTEBAYO_!" Naruto suddenly stood up with a fist punching the invisible air above his head, splashing the hot water to every direction.

"_Geh_, Naruto you're being too loud, and no, I only look at her like how I look at Sakura or Hinata. I don't care about what she likes or doesn't like."

"Hmm, that's too bad. She's Suna's ambassador and the sister slash bodyguard of the Kazekage, quite a catch. But she's a bit too muscular for my liking too though. I prefer delicate girls like the ones in our Konoha 11 group." Kiba said with a yawn and his hand that was covering his mouth from a distance suddenly came to a halt, "Anyway, speaking of _catches_, tell me, how ya cope being so close around _Ino-babe_ everyday, Shikamaru." Kiba leaned closer to him while wiggling his eyebrows knowingly, "It must be hard to control the excitement, eh? She's a total hottie after all, just look at those damn curves and plump boobs, man, I would _kill_ to be her boyfriend." Kiba let out a laugh.

There was a sharp feeling of anger hitting him and he glared at Kiba intensely for speaking disrespectfully about her.

"Aww man, loosen up. It's just among us guys. We all know how hot she is. She always makes every head turned to her when she walks down the street, of both males and females. Not that I actually like her though, I already have someone else I like." Kiba patted his shoulder and smiled assuringly at him. "I know she's your teammate and how much you care for her."

He exhaled the breath he didn't realize he was holding and clenched his fists tightly before relaxing them to release the tension in his body emerging from the irritation, "She doesn't _get it_."

He laid back his head and stared at stars that were beginning to show up. "She wants to attract guys' attention by revealing so much of her skin. I mean, sure, sexiness attracts the eyes, but not the heart. Us guys prefer girls who are… _presentable_. Not necessarily modest, just not too revealing. Girls who are neat, you know. It leaves more to the imagination. You understand right, Kiba? But she doesn't. She _never_ gets it." Shikamaru was almost frustrated and clenched his jaw unconsciously recalling how those males smirked and looked at her with barely concealed lust when she walked past them.

.

.

.

_What the hell was that? Is that how Shikamaru thinks of me all along? That I'm trashy?_

She had kept quiet and listened to their conversations with grim expression from the other side of the hot spring that was reserved exclusively for females. Ino fumed with anger and her body was tense, emitting dark aura that scared those around her.

"I-Ino.. I'm sure Shikamaru does not mean it in that way, right, guys? Don't over think it." Sakura tried to calm her down, knowing fully well what was running in her best friend's head. She knew Ino had always jumped too quickly to conclusions.

With a rush of barely controlled anger, she leaped up and left Hinata, Sakura and Tenten without saying a word, ignoring Hinata and Tenten who kept calling her name.

It hadn't been more than twenty minutes since she had been in the onsen but the thought of what else those guys might have said about her was almost unbearable.

She dried herself with a towel and dressed with feverish haste before going straight to her room. Once inside, she closed the door with a loud bang and threw her body onto the bed, burying her face deep in the pillow that there was no room for air. She grabbed another pillow and squeezed it between her hands before pouncing on it repetitively, imagining it to be her teammate's head.

_That bastard! All these years of growing up together, I trusted him enough with my life and that's how he thinks of me? _

She screamed as hard as she could into the pillow. The pain in her heart was too much. She knew she had a growing attraction towards the young Nara and thought maybe this time she would have had a chance, but now that she had heard those words coming directly out of his mouth, her heart just shattered into million pieces.

A tear rolled down her left cheek, and soon a stream of tears coursed down uncontrollably.

_Why is it that guys I like just never like me back? Sakura, Hinata and Tenten all have guys chasing after them. Why don't I have any? They said I'm the prettiest in the whole Konoha, but why don't any of them chase me?_

Her cries became more and more intense and she slowly fell asleep from exhaustion.

_Presentable, huh? Maybe guys like Sakura, Hinata and Tenten because they are presentable?_

Little did she know, had she not stormed off the onsen, she would have heard the next thing Shikamaru said about her.

.

.

.

"…But, even with the way she dressed, I've never seen any girl who is as kind, as beautiful as her. She shines bright, much like the sun. That fierce determination when she fights, that confidence that radiates throughout her very being like it was innate, that genuine kindness she had despite the hostile façade she puts on…" He paused briefly before finishing, "No one just compares to her."

Shikamaru pondered at the night sky, eyes wandering idly from one star to another as if tracing invisible lines to fathom the stars into constellations, but his mind was elsewhere.

"Shikamaru…" Chouji said in an almost inaudible breath of whisper. "You love her."

It was not a question.

It was not an unsure hearsay that needs a confirmation.

It was a statement, an expression of fact that could not be further from the truth.

He dragged his eyes from the stars to face his bestfriend, analyzing the expression on his face. There was awe, aghast, contentment and pure shock. He could read Chouji like a book. It was as if his thoughts were always written clearly all over his face. He knew what was inside the head of the brunette; 'how could I only realize it now'.

He looked back up at the stars. His eyes turned soft and one end of his mouth tugged upwards to form a humble half smile as though he could see her smiling face in the sky.

"…_Yeah_. I guess I do."

**XOXO**

"Ino. Ino. Oi, _Ino-buta_! Wake up! The party is starting in a few minutes!" Sakura shook her shoulders wildly.

"Sa-sakura.. I… I cannot open my eyes!" Ino murmured as she raised her eyebrows in attempt to force open her heavy eyelids that would not open.

_Smack_! She felt a gush of air across her cheeks and suddenly felt herself falling butt first on the cold wooden floor. Her eyes shot open at the brief adrenaline rush and looked around sluggishly, "Wh-what's happening? Is there a fire? What day is it?!" She asked mindlessly, her face was beyond dumb. Sakura would have laughed at it if it weren't for the need to get her homicidal friend dressed up quickly as to not be late at the party.

"What nonsense are you trying to pull _Ino-pig_!" The angry expression on Sakura's face was almost comical. "Hurry and get dressed! We only have 20 minutes!"

"Huh?!" _Oh, right. The party_. "Wait, how did you get in?"

"I tore the door down." Sakura answered dully without missing a beat as though it was the most normal thing to say.

"What do you mean you tore-" Her jaw dropped to the floor when her eyes caught the sight of her room door barely hanging to its frame. "Oh my God, Sakura are you out of your mind?"

"Let's leave that matter until later. We need to get you dressed fast. Sit in front of the mirror." Sakura commanded before beginning to gather her make up kit and proceed to do Ino's hair. She noticed Sakura was already clad in a white sleeveless Chinese style dress that stopped just above her knee with plum blossom pattern all over the dress. It reminded her a lot of a certain weapon expert.

"Where did you get that _cheongsam_?"

"This? Oh, Tenten lend me one. What do you think?" Sakura smiled and looked at her expectantly in the mirror while her hands fumbled with Ino's long blonde hair.

She examined the cloth that hugged her torso carefully, "No wonder it's too big for you on the chest. Her boobs are three times bigger than yours, after all. What did you expect from her dresses."

Sakura's left eye twitched as she suppressed her anger, "What did you say, _Ino-pig_?!"

"You're the one who asked for my opinion, _billboard-forehead_!"

It was beyond anyone how Ino was finally dressed in 15 minutes with the constant verbal battle with Sakura. She wore a dark red v-neck halter dress that perfectly hugged her curves until her waist before falling down elegantly and pooled around her feet. The velvet dress was backless and a few strands of faux diamonds descended loosely from the strap at the back of her neck to where her dress met the exposed skin of her lower back. Her platinum blonde hair was held up in a bun to look like a blooming flower.

She examined herself in the mirror and thought of what Shikamaru had said earlier. _This dress shows off my curves and does not make me look trashy. Wait until Shikamaru sees it. He must be stunned by my appearance his brain will freeze and stop working._ Ino smiled satisfactorily to herself. She was gorgeous, and she knew it.

"Let's go, Sakura."

**XOXO**

She stood at the corner of the hall and watched as couples in their elegant suits and evening gowns glided across the floor to the sway of the music. Her eyes scanned the room but she did not find someone she was looking for. She went out to re-apply her lipgloss in the restroom. Examining herself from head to toe, she rehearsed her most charming smile. _Perfect_. She gave the mirror one last glance before going out of the restroom into the hallway.

The second she turned around the corner, she almost stopped in her strides and her eyes widened slightly at the unexpected sight of the man she was looking for, walking a few meters in front of her. The man, however, stopped walking abruptly the moment he caught sight of her and just gazed at her, his whole body unmoving.

_Shikamaru_.

Nonetheless, she held her head high and continued to walk gracefully while keeping her eyes on him to observe his every reaction. The confidence in each stride she took never wavered and she knew he loved that.

She saw how his gaze fell to her body, eyeing her up and down slowly like he was memorizing her every curve, and with his IQ of 200, he probably already had them committed to memory in just a few seconds.

She stopped in front of him and his eyes met hers once again. She gave him the smile she had practiced over and over again. "What's wrong, Shikamaru?" She asked in a soft voice that tingled his spine.

But he just kept staring at her face, taking it all in and memorizing the way her luscious lips glazed, the way her eyes fluttered sultrily and the way she smelled of musk and rose that paralyzed every cell of his brain. He saw her lips moved and he knew she was saying something, but he was too lost in his own thoughts he could not register the words that were coming out of her mouth. He heard her voice, yet the words sound to his ears like a foreign language he could not understand.

His eyes instinctively fell to her body again while the logical part of his mind was still trying to work out what she was saying, and her smile widened. If the man who had iron grip on self-control Shikamaru could not resist staring at her this much then she sure had done quite a feat.

She was alluring in such an elegant way he wondered if she was actually a goddess. His brain started to imagine him kissing her full on the lips and pinned her to the wall, wondering how her body would feel like when his hands roamed all over her body. No matter how strong his self-control is, he was still a guy with a hormonal mind.

He came into realization that he had been ogling her ex-teammate for a while and forced himself to look away, but to no avail. He tried to quench his hormonal thoughts out of his mind, but his eyes that were still audaciously glued to her were not helping at all if not only making it worse. His hands itched strongly to hold her waist tightly, to pull her body closer to him, and it took all of his remaining self-control to keep his hands still on his sides.

_Now, this is the perfect chance_. She stepped closer to him, inching only a few centimeters from his face and brought her right hand to his cheek and caressed it very lightly with the knuckles of her fingers. His body tensed and shivered noticeably at the touch.

"Are you that surprised to see the trashy Ino could look more…" She trailed off purposefully before continuing to finish her rather rhetorical question, "…_presentable_?"

Her expression was neither of hurt nor arrogance. She was smiling, but she was expressionless and her eyes were empty, looking almost exactly like that fake Sai.

Had he really hurt her heart that bad? His brain suddenly started working again and it did not take a genius like him to understand what was going on; she had heard him.

"I-Ino, that's not what I meant. I never thought of you as-" He managed to stammered out, even though there was obvious tremble in his voice and he knew she couldn't have missed that.

"Then what?" She interrupted him before he could finish. Her voice was uncharacteristically quiet and he knew it was the kind of calm before the storm. He did _not_ like it. Her empty smile did not falter one bit. She was not buying his excuses, that much he knew.

"What else could you have ever thought of me all this time, _Shika_?" She put an emphasis on his shortened name, which he would have swooned over had he not been caught in a troublesome situation like this. She stared into his eyes emptily and it was clear that she was not going to believe anything he had to say.

"Ino, please, hear me out. I never said anything about you being trashy and all. I just don't like how those males-"

"You think that I have no modesty right? That I'm a _slut_?" There was a slight exasperation in her voice and he knew by now no words will sink in her brain if her mind was already clouded with fury.

"What?! _No_! No, dammit! Ino that's definitely not what I was saying! Please, let me talk. I didn't -" He stopped in mid-sentence as she walked past him towards the hall where the party was held. He called out for her but she would not turn her head and she soon vanished into the ballroom.

_Kuso._

He punched the door beside him to take out his anger on. He didn't care how his knuckles were throbbing in pain or how there was a substantial damage at the center of the wooden door. His sole focus was on trying to make her believe him.

Suna sure sustained a lot of damaged doors tonight.

**XOXO**

A waiter offered her a glass of champagne and she took it gladly, chugging down its contents. She needed to calm her temper and alcohol was the best cure she could find here.

Colorful gowns flashed past her eyes as the ladies were twirled around by their dance partners. The elegant ballroom shone with a golden glow of the colossal chandelier that hung above the dance floor in sheer beauty. _Had Suna always been this elegant before?_

She spotted some familiar faces on the dance floor such as Naruto and Hinata, Neji and Tenten, Lee and some woman she had never seen–probably just some random guest he picked out, and then there was also Sakura dancing with… _Kankuro_? She almost let out a snort and kept it in her mind to tease her later about it.

She noticed how Sakura was standing out so much with her orient cheongsam. The guests were all wearing long elegant gowns and full suit. Even Tenten was clad in a strapless turqoise-colored evening gown that complimented her brown-chestnut hair and eyes, and Hinata was wearing a mid-sleeve, off-shoulder light blue lace dress. She remembered how the party theme was evening gown and wondered what Sakura was thinking wearing something like that in the first place.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted when a white rose was held out to her side. She looked up to see the person holding the delicate flower and her eyes met a pair of glittering emeralds staring at her before her eyes widened in surprise.

"K-Kazekage-sama!"

**XOXO**

**Whoops, to be continued! The story went on way longer than I planned so I decided to divide it into 2 chapters. Next chapter will be up soon, so stay alert and don't forget to press follow! Reviews are more than welcome :D**


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